International Gas Union Gas Research Conference
There has been a general trend over the last 10 years for gas companies, particularly those in liberalised markets, to reduce R&D expenditure. Given the strategic challenges facing the gas industry, it is time to reconsider the level of R&D expenditure and its business focus and to reverse the trend of decreasing R&D support.

Since the fruitful Vancouver IGRC conference 2004, much thought has gone into the future positioning of the International Gas Research Conference. The International Gas Union (IGU) has taken IGRC (IGU Gas Research Conference) under its umbrella and is preparing a three-day IGRC in October 2008. The official name and timing of the conference have been changed. It is now called the IGU Gas Research Conference – still IGRC for short -and is planned around twelve months before the next World Gas Conference (WGC). This timing makes it possible to present up to date IGRC results at the WGC.

The conference programme will offer a balance between short, mid and long-term issues, mainly focusing on the relation between gas business and gas research. Workshops and roundtables are planned on major issues and technology topics facing the gas industry, such as CO2 capture and sequestration, safety issues concerning the whole gas chain, methane hydrates, increasing efficiency of depleted and stranded gas fields, gas and renewables, distributed energy generation and the use of information technology to improve the efficiency of the gas chain.
Apart from the workshops, oral and poster sessions on each of the links in the gas chain will be organised: Exploration and Production (including LNG), Storage, Transmission, Distribution and Utilization. You may expect to receive a call for papers for this prestigious conference in the fourth quarter of 2007. The final conference programme will be distributed early 2008. The deadline for the submission of papers will be in the second quarter of 2008.

IGU is pleased to announce that IGRC 2008 will be held at the Scientific Conference Center in Paris, the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie, with the support of our French host, Association Française du Gaz (AFG). This venue guarantees a professionally organised conference in a pleasant environment close to the heart of the city with “grandeur”: Paris.

The IGRC provides gas researchers and interested business partners with an excellent opportunity to exchange thoughts and ideas. Technological success cannot be taken for granted, but will have to be based on research and development focusing on basic science as well as technology breakthroughs. In addition, technological developments will have to meet market needs.

We call upon you and your colleagues to make a note of this conference in your diaries and to submit papers.

George H.B. Verberg President of IGU, Chairman of the IGRC		Christian Beckervordersandforth Chairman of the IGRC Programme Policy Committee Commission
Daniel Paccoud IGRC 2008 Paris Chairman of the National Organising Committee		Marc Florette IGU R&D task force leader

For further details please contact Mr Robert Doets P.O. Box 20051, 7302 HB Apeldoorn, The Netherlands (igrc@chello.nl).